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The Gettysburg yiddress 



WHEN WRITTEN, HOW RECEIVED, 
ITS TRUE FORM 



BY 

MAJOR WILLIAM H. LAMBERT 



m 



Reprinted from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biog- 
raphy for October^ ^9^9 



Printed by 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 



With Ccnnplvments of 



WILLIAM H. LAM^ELiT, 

Brevet Major U. S. V. 



MUTUAL LIFE BUILDING, 
Philadelphia. 



THE GETTYSBURG 
ADDRESS 



WHEN WRITTEN, HOW RECEIVED, 
ITS TRUE FORM 



BY 



z. 



MAJOR WILLIAM H: LAMBERT 



Reprinted From "The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography," 

October, 1909 



PHILADELPHIA 

1909 



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The Standard Version. — President Lincoln's Final Revision. 

Photographed from the fac-simile first published in "Autograph I,eaves of Our 
Country's Authors," Baltimore, 1864. 

{Reduced) 



THE GETTYSBUEG ADDEESS. 

WHEN WRITTEN, HOW RECEIVED, ITS TRUE FORM. 
BY MAJOR WILLIAM H. LAMBERT. 

[Read before the Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania, Military 
Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, February 14, 1906 ; 
and before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, February 8, 1909.] 

The most notable of the series of speeches made by 
Abraham Lincoln after leaving Springfield, and while on 
his way to Washington for his inauguration as President, 
was that made in this city in Independence Hall, and in- 
spired by its sacred memories ; and the most famous of his 
addresses as President was delivered at the dedication of the 
Soldiers' IsTational Cemetery on the battlefield of Gettysburg. 

Consideration of these remarkable utterances upon the 
soil of our State would seem appropriate by the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania at this time of commemoration ot 
the centenary of Lincoln's birth; and your attention is in- 
vited to the circumstances attending the delivery of the 
Gettysburg Address, as described in some of the accounts 
of the dedication, which I present in an endeavor to de- 
termine what was the origin of the address, how it was 
received, and what is its true form, for, strange as it may 
appear, widely difi'ering answers are given to these several 
queptions. 

i President Lincoln left Washington for Gettysburg at 
noon on Wednesday, Il^ovember 18, 1863, in a special train 
consisting of four passenger coaches; he was accompanied 
by a large party that included members of his Cabinet, 
several foreign ministers, his private secretaries, officers of 
the Army and l^avy, a mifitary guard, and newspaper cor- 
respondents; the train arrived at Gettysburg about dark. 
Mr. Lincoln spent the night at the house of David Wills, 

(1) 



2 The Gettysburg Address, 

Governor Curtin's representative and the active agent in 
the establishment of the Soldiers' Cemetery. 

Arnold, in his "History of Lincoln and the Overthrow 
of Slavery," asserts that the President "while on his way 
from the White House to the battlefield was notified that 
he would be expected to make some remarks," and that 
asking for some paper a rough sheet of foolscap was handed 
to him; "retiring to a seat by himself, with a pencil he 
wrote the address." 

Similarly Ben Perley Poore says in his "Reminiscences 
of Lincoln " that " his remarks at Gettysburg * * * were 
written in the car on his way from Washington to the 
battlefield, upon a piece of pasteboard held on his knee." 
In the beautiful story by Mrs. Andrews entitled "The 
Perfect Tribute," which, because of its wide circulation in 
the magazine in which it first appeared, and subsequently 
as a daintily printed book, has done much to form popular 
opinion of the composition and delivery of the Address, it 
is said that the President after gazing wistfully across the 
car at Edward Everett — who was not in it, having pre- 
viously gone to Gettysburg by another route — appealed to 
Secretary Seward for the brown paper he had just re- 
moved from a package of books : " May I have this to do 
a little writing ? " and then with a stump of a pencil labored 
for hours over his speech. 

On the contrary. General James B. Fry, who was present 
in the car as one o± the escort, says that he is confident that 
the assertion that the Address was written in the train en 
route to Gettysburg is an error, and states, " I have no 
recollection of seeing him writing or even reading his 
speech during the journey, in fact there was hardly any 
opportunity for him to read or write." Mcolay, the senior 
of the President's private secretaries, in an interesting and 
highly valuable paper on the Gettysburg Address, says, 
" There is neither record, evidence, nor well founded tradi- 
tion that Mr. Lincoln did any writing or made any notes 
on the journey between Washington and Gettysburg," 



The Getty shurg Address. 3 

the many interruptions incident to the journey, together 
with the rocking and jolting of the train, made writing 
virtually impossible. 

In Mowry's " History of the United States for Schools," 
published in 1896, it is said : " There is conclusive evidence 
that the words of the address were not written out until after 
the Presidential party had arrived upon the ground" ; and 
in an appendix it is stated : " The following account of how 
the address was written was received directly from the lips 
of ex- Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, who was present 
on the occasion and knew whereof he af&rmed. Governor 
Curtin said that after the arrival of the party from Wash- 
ington, while the President and his Cabinet, Edward Ever- 
ett, the orator of the day. Governor Curtin, and others were 
sitting in the parlor of the hotel, the President remarked 
that he understood that the committee expected him to say 
something. He would, therefore, if they would excuse him, 
retire to the next room and see if he could write out some- 
thing. He was absent some time, and upon returning to 
the company had in his hand a large-sized, yellow govern- 
ment envelope. The President sat down, and remarked 
that he had written something, and with their permission he 
would like to read it to them, and invited them to criticise 
it. After reading what he had written upon the envelope, 
he asked for any suggestions they might make; Secretary 
Seward volunteered one or two comments, which Mr. Lin- 
coln accepted and incorporated. Then he said, ' ITow, gen- 
tlemen, if you will excuse me again, I will copy this off,' 
and returning again made a fresh copy to read from." 

A somewhat different account of Governor Curtin's 
recollection is given by Hon. Horatio King in his '' Turning 
on the Light," wherein he writes that in 1885 at Gettys- 
burg the Governor said : '' I saw Mr. Lincoln writing this 
address in Mr. Wills' house on a long yellow envelope. He 
may have written some of it before. He said ' I will go and 
show it to Seward,' who stopped at another house, which 
he did and then returned and copied his speech on a fools- 



4 The Gettysburg Address. 

cap sheet." Mr. King adds that the Grovernor expressed 
extreme regret that he had not secured that envelope on 
which he most positively declared he saw Mr. Lincoln writ- 
ing his Address as above described. 

The Hon. Edward McPherson of Gettysburg, for many 
years Clerk of the House of Representatives, said in 1875, 
in a newspaper communication, that after Mr. Lincoln had 
retired to his room on the night of the 18th he sent for his 
host and '' inquired the order of exercises for the next day 
and began to put in writing what he called some stray 
thoughts to utter on the morrow." Mr. Wills believed that 
the Address was written in his house and said in 1893, as he 
had earlier, that the President read '' from the same paper 
on which I had seen him writing it the night before." 

Prof. Draper in his " History of the American Civil 
War," one of the most scholarly and philosophic of the his- 
tories of the Rebellion, asserts that when the President rose 
to speak " he unpremeditatedly and solemnly said, ' It is 
intimated to me that this assemblage expects me to say 
something on this occasion.' " 

ijToah Brooks, newspaper correspondent at Washington 
during the war, who, having been acquainted with Mr. Lin- 
coln in Illinois, was on terms of friendly intimacy and has 
written much about him, declared that a few days prior to 
the 19th of ]^ovember, 1863, Mr. Lincoln told him that 
Mr. Everett had kindly sent him a copy of his oration in 
order that the same ground might not be gone over by 
both; the President added, "There is no danger that I 
shall, my speech is all blocked out— it is very short." In 
answer to the question whether the speech was written, he 
said, ''^N'ot exactly written — it is not finished anyway." 
Brooks further asserted that the speech was written and re- 
written many times, and revised somewhat after Mr. Lin- 
coln's arrival at Gettysburg. 

Ward H. Lamon, a personal friend and associate of Mr. 
Lincoln before the war, accompanied him from Springfield 
to Washington, was appointed Marshal of the District of 



The Gettysburg Address. 5 

Columbia, and had confidential relations with the President 
throughout his administration, and was the Chief Marshal 
of the ceremonies at Gettysburg; and he devoted a chapter 
of his "Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1866," to 
the Gettysburg Address, in which he writes : "A day or two 
before the dedication of the IsTational Cemetery at Gettys- 
burg, Mr. Lincoln told me that he would be expected to 
make a speech on the occasion; that he was extremely 
busy, and had no time for preparation ; and that he greatly 
feared that he would not be able to acquit himself with 
credit, much less to fill the measure of public expectation." 
Lamon says he was shown " a sheet of foolscap, one side of 
which was closely written with what he informed me was a 
memorandum of his intended address. This he read to me, 
first remarking that it was not at all satisfactory to him. It 
proved to be in substance, if not in exact words, what was 
afterwards printed in his famous Gettysburg speech." 

A newspaper paragraph, the original date and source of 
which are unknown to me, alleges that Senator Cameron 
had asserted that he had seen a draft of the address in the 
White House before the President left Washington. 

Such are the divergent testimonies concerning the prep- 
aration of the Address. Fortunately there exists documen- 
tary evidence to substantiate the statements of Brooks and 
Lamon and Cameron, and to establish conclusively that 
the Address was the outcome of deliberation and careful 
thought. 

The formal invitation to the President was written on the 
2nd of ITovember and specifically stated that " it is the 
desire that you as the Chief Executive of the ITation for- 
mally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few 
appropriate remarks." La the article before referred to Mc- 
olay says that Mr. Lincoln carried in his pocket the auto- 
graph manuscript of so much of his Address as he had 
written at Washington, and a facsimile reproduction of the 
original draft is given. The first page of the manuscript is 
written in ink and ends with an incompleted sentence, facts 



6 The Gettysburg Address. 

which justify Mcolay's inference that at the time of writing 
it in Washington the remainder of the sentence was also 
written in ink on another sheet of paper. On the morning 
of the 19th when, in Mcolay's presence, the President fin- 
ished writing his Address he used a lead pencil with which 
he crossed out the last three words of the first page and 
wrote other words above them and on another sheet wrote 
the remainder of the Address, in substance about one-third 
of the whole ; this second page is also produced in facsimile. 
This manuscript consisting of two pages was in Mr. Lin- 
coln's hands when he delivered his Address. Undoubtedly 
the first page of this manuscript was part of the original 
draft of the Address and the second page was the new draft 
substituted for the cancelled original, there being probably 
some immaterial differences between the two versions. 

Another manuscript exists, which is now in the possession 
of the family of the late John Hay, who as one of the Pres- 
ident's private secretaries was present at the dedication. 
This manuscript, which is in the President's autograph, 
is reproduced in facsimile in Putnam's Magazine for Feb- 
ruary, 1909, in connection with " Recollections of Lincoln" 
by Gen. James Grant Wilson, who believes the manuscript 
was written after the President's return from Gettysburg. 

The Hay manuscript is undoubtedly the second existing 
draft of the address, but because of information obtained 
from Col. John P. I^icholson, to whom it was imparted by 
Secretary Hay, I am convinced that this manuscript was 
written before !N'ovember 19, 1863, and that it was inad- 
vertently left at Washington. This opinion is further 
strengthened by the internal evidence of the manuscript 
itself. 

The second page of the !N'icolay manuscript is almost 
identical with the corresponding page of the Hay manu- 
script, but the latter in its entirety conforms much more 
closely to the Address as actually delivered than the Mco- 
lay and justifies the belief that the Hay was the final draft 
of the complete Address before its delivery. I^either man- 






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The Gettysburg Address. 7 

uscript was written after the delivery of the Address, for 
neither contains the notable addition of the words "under 
God," that were interpolated by the President when he 
spoke, and which he would not have omitted from any sub- 
sequent transcript. 

Whatever revision may have been given to the Address 
en route to or at Gettysburg, whatever changes or additions 
may have been made in its delivery, the Address existed 
in substantially completed form before the President left 
Washington. 

There can be no doubt that he had given prolonged and 
earnest thought to the preparation of this Address ; he had 
had more than two weeks' notice that he was desired to 
speak ; and although the demands upon his time and atten- 
tion were such as to allow him little opportunity for unin- 
terrupted thought, he appreciated the momentousness of 
the occasion, he knew how much was expected of him, and 
what was due to the honored dead, and he did not trust to 
the inspiration of the moment or rely upon his readiness as 
an impromptu speaker when he dedicated the Soldiers' 
Cemetery at Gettysburg, for he had wrought and rewrought 
until there came into perfect form the noblest tribute to a 
cause and its heroes ever rendered by human lips. 

The Address has been so long and so general^ accepted 
as the highest expression of American oratory, that it is 
difficult to realize that it ever had less appreciation than 
now. The testimonies of those who heard the Address 
delivered differ widely as to the reception given it and as 
to the impression it made. 

In the " History of the Battle of Gettysburg " (published 
in 1875) Samuel P. Bates in giving an account of the dedi- 
cation ceremonies quotes the Address and says : " Its de- 
livery was more solemn and impressive than is possible to 
conceive from its perusal. Major Harry T. Lee, who was 
one of the actors in the battle and who was present upon 
the platform at the dedication, says that the people hstened 



8 The Getty shurg Address. 

with marked attention throughout the two hours that Mr. 
Everett spoke ****** \^^^ ^]^g^^ when Mr. Lincohi 
came forward and, with a voice burdened with emotion, 
uttered these sublime words the bosoms of that vast audi- 
ence were lifted as a great wave of the sea ; and that when 
he came to the passage, ' The brave men living and dead, 
who struggled here,' there was not a dry eye.* * * * " 

Arnold in his life of Lincoln (1885), after citing the 
Address, states: " Before the first sentence was completed, a 
thrill of feeling like an electric shock pervaded the crowd. 
That mysterious influence called magnetism, which some- 
times so affects a popular assembly, spread to every heart. 
The vast audience was instantly hushed and hung upon his 
every word and syllable. Every one felt that it was not the 
honored dead only, but the living actor and speaker that 
the world for all time to come would note and remember, 
and that the speaker in the thrilling words he was uttering 
was linking his name forever with the glory of the dead. 
* * * All his hearers realized that the great actor in the 
drama stood before them, and that the words he said would 
live as long as the language ; that they were words which 
would be recollected in all future ages among all peoples, 
as often as men should be called upon to die for liberty and 
country. As he closed, and the tears and sobs and cheers 
which expressed the emotions of the people subsided, he 
turned to Everett and, grasping his hand, said, ' I congratu- 
late you on your success.' The orator gratefully replied, 
< Ah ! Mr. President, how gladly would I exchange all my 
hundred pages to have been the author of your twenty 
lines.' " 

Major Mckerson, of the 8th Ohio, who had been severely 
wounded in the battle, was present at the dedication and 
had a seat on the platform within a few feet of the speak- 
ers, gave an account in Scribner's Magazine^ July, 1893, of 
his " Two Visits to Gettysburg." He says : " Others, too, 
have differed as to the immediate effects of the President's 
remarks. I give the impressions received at the time, 



The Gettysburg Address. 9 

which were also identical with those of all with whom I 
spoke. I thought then and still think it was the shortest, 
grandest speech to which I ever listened. * * * ^j 
own emotions may perhaps be imagined when it is remem- 
bered that he was facing the spot where only a short time 
before we had our death grapple with Pickett's men and 
he stood almost immediately over the place where I had 
lain and seen my comrades torn in fragments by the 
enemy's cannon-balls — think then, if you please, how these 
words fell upon my ear." Then, quoting a portion of the 
Address, the Major adds : " If at that moment the Supreme 
Being had appeared with an offer to undo my past life, 
give back to me a sound body free from the remembrance 
even of sufferings past and the imminence of those that must 
necessarily embitter all the years to come, I should have 
indignantly spurned the offer, such was the effect upon me 
of this immortal dedication." 

Kobert Miller, who had been the Adjutant of an Ohio 
Eegiment of 100 days' volunteers, was a member of the 
Ohio Legislature and attended the dedication ceremonies, 
stated in a letter published in the Eaton, Ohio, Register, 
l^ovember 30, 1863: ^' The tall form of the President ap- 
peared on the stand and never before have I seen a crowd 
so vast and restless, after standing so long, so soon stilled 
and quieted. Hats were removed and all stood motionless 
to catch the first words he should utter, and as he slowly, 
clearly, and without the least sign of embarrassment read 
and spoke for ten minutes you could not mistake the 
feeling and sentiment of the vast multitude before him. 
I am convinced that the speech of the President has fully 
confirmed and I think will confirm all loyal men and 
women in the belief that Abraham Lincoln, though he 
may have made mistakes, is the right man in the right 
place." 

The Commissioners representing Massachusetts at the 
dedication, in their report to Governor Andrew, say, " The 
brief speech of President Lincoln * * * * made a 



10 The Gettysburg Address. 

profound impression " ; and that it was spoken with great 
deliberation. The correspondent of the Boston Daily 
Advertiser^ who was probably one of the Commissioners, in 
his letter to that paper expressed a similar view and added 
that the remarks " seemed to be emphatically the right 
words in the right place." ^ 

A committee from the city of Boston attending the dedi- 
cation reported : " Perhaps nothing in the whole proceed- 
ings made so deep an impression on the vast assemblage or 
has conveyed to the country in so concise a form the lesson 
of the hour, as the remarks of the President, their sim- 
plicity and force make them worthy of a prominence 
among the utterances from high places." ^ 

The opinions of these Commissioners and of Lieutenant 
Miller are especially valuable because expressed and recorded 
immediately after they had heard the address. 

John Russell Young, who was present on the speaker's 
platform as representative of the Philadelphia Press, in an 
article published in 1891, based upon his recollections and 
memoranda made at the time, says that the report made by 
the Associated Press " was studded with applause, but I do 
not remember the applause and am afraid the appreciative 
reporter was more than generous — may have put in the ap- 
plause himself as a personal expression of opinion. * * * 
I have read * * * of the emotions produced by the 
President's address, the transcendent awe that fell upon 
every one who heard those most mighty and ever living 
words, to be remembered with pride through the ages, I 
have read of the tears that fell and the solemn hush, as 
though in a cathedral solemnity in the most holy moment 
of the Sacrifice. * * * There was nothing of this, to 
the writer at least, in the Gettysburg Address." 

In Lamon's account he professes to quote Mr. Lincoln's 
own opinion of his Address and says that, " After its delivery 
on the day of commemoration he expressed deep regret that 

^Burrage: *' Gettysburg and Lincoln, " p. 124. 
'Barrage: "Gettysburg and Lincoln," p. 125. 



The Gettysburg Address. 11 

lie had not prepared it with greater care. He said to me 
on the stand imnrediately after concluding the speech : 
' Lamon, that speech won't scour ! It is a flat failure and 
the people are disappointed.' He seemed deeply concerned 
about what the people might think of his address, more 
deeply, in fact, than I had ever seen him on any public 
occasion. * * * ^he occasion was solemn, impressive, 
and grandly historic. The people, it is true, stood appar- 
ently spell-bound; and the vast throng was hushed and 
awed into profound silence, and attention to his words arose 
more from the solemnity of the ceremonies and the awful 
scenes which gave rise to them than from anything he had 
said. He believed that the speech was a failure. He 
thought so at the time and he never referred to it after- 
wards in conversation with me, without some expression ot 
unqualified regret that he had not made the speech better 
in every way. On the platform from which Mr. Lincoln 
delivered his address and only a moment after it was con- 
cluded, Mr. Seward turned to Mr. Everett and asked him 
what he thought of the President's speech. Mr. Everett? 
replied, ^ It is not what I expected from him, I am disap- 
pointed.' Then in his turn Mr. Everett asked, ^ What do 
you think of it, Mr. Seward ?' The response was, ' He has 
made a failure and I am sorry for it. His speech is not 
equal to him.' Mr. Seward then turned to me and asked, 
^ Mr. Marshal, what do you think of it ? ' I answered, ' I 
am sorry to say that it does not impress me as one of his 
great speeches.' 

" In the face of these facts it has been repeatedly pub- 
lished that this speech was received by the audience 
with loud demonstrations of approval ; that amid the tears, 
sobs, and cheers it produced in the excited throng, the 
orator of the day, Mr. Everett, turned to Mr. Lincoln, 
grasped his hand and exclaimed, ' I congratulate you on 
your success,' adding in a transport of heated enthusiasm, 
*Ah ! Mr. President, how gladly would I give my hundred 
pages to be the author of your twenty lines ! ' 



12 The Getty shurg Address. 

"As a matter of fact, the silence during the delivery of 
the speech, and the lack of hearty demonstration of 
approval immediately after its close, were taken by Mr. 
Lincoln as a certain proof that it was not well received. 
In that opinion we all shared. If any person then present 
saw, or thought he saw, the marvelous beauties of that won- 
derful speech, as intelligent men in all lands now see and 
acknowledge them, his superabundant caution closed his 
lips and stayed his pen. >f: * * * j state it as a 
fact, and without fear of contradiction, that this famous 
Gettysburg speech was not regarded by the audience to 
whom it was addressed, or by the press and people of 
the United States, as a production of extraordinary merit, 
nor was it commented on as such until after the death of 
the author." 

While there may be some truth in Lamon's narrative, and 
the language ascribed to Lincoln seems natural and char- 
acteristic, allowance should be made for the author's idio- 
syncrasies as exhibited in the "Life of Lincoln" published 
in 1872, that, purporting to have been written by Lamon, 
and was based upon information that had been secured by 
him, was really written by Chauncey F. Black, son of Presi- 
dent Buchanan's Attorney- General. Certainly Lamon's 
assertion concerning Everett's criticism of the Address is 
not consistent with his letter to the President on the follow- 
ing day, in which, after thanking Mr. Lincoln for the kind- 
ness shown himself and his daughter at Gettysburg, Mr. 
Everett said : " Permit me also to express my great admi- 
ration of the thoughts expressed by you with such eloquent 
simplicity and appropriateness at the consecration of the 
Cemetery. I should be glad if I could flatter myself that 
I came as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours 
as you did in two minutes." 

The President's reply was characteristically modest; I 
quote the reference to himself: "In our respective parts 
yesterday you could not have been excused to make a short 
address nor I long one. I am pleased to know that in your 
judgment the little I did say was not a failure." 



The Gettysburg Address. 13 

Mr. Clark E. Carr, who was present at Gettysburg as a 
Commissioner from Illinois, is the author of an address, 
^' Lincoln at Grettysburg," in which he quotes liberally 
and with approval from Lam on and from Nicolay, and 
also gives his own impressions concerning the President's 
Address, saying : " His expressions were so plain and 
homely, without any attempt at rhetorical periods, and his 
statements were so axiomatic, and, I may say, matter-of-fact, 
and so simple, that I had no idea that as an address it was 
anything more than ordinary." But he adds, " Every one 
was impressed with his sincerity and earnestness," and, 
'' There was one sentence that did deeply affect me — the 
only one in which the President manifested emotion. With 
the close of that sentence his lips quivered, and there was 
a tremor in his voice which I can never forget. * * * 
The sentence was, * The world will little note, nor long 
remember what we say here, but it can never forget what 
they did here.* " 

This sentence that so impressed Mr. Carr attracted the 
attention of George William Curtis, who, in Harper's Weekly, 
December 5, 1863, said of the Address, but with special ref- 
erence to the sentence quoted: "The few words of the 
President were from the heart to the heart, they can not 
be read even without kindly emotion. It was as simple 
and felicitous and earnest a word as was ever spoken." 

However the various narratives may differ as to the degree 
of appreciation of the Address, all agree that the Presi- 
dent was accorded most respectful attention and that his 
bearing and demeanor were appropriate to the solemn occa- 
sion. I have found no evidence to justify the statements in 
" The Perfect Tribute" that the effect on the audience of the 
President's voice was ghastly and with his gaunt figure too 
much for the American crowd's sense of humor, and that 
a suppressed yet unmistakable titter caught and ran through 
the throng. It is unfortunate that this popular story should 
promulgate such a travesty of fact. 

The circumstances attending the delivery of the Address 



14 The Gettysburg Address. 

were not such as to conduce to its full appreciation. The 
procession that had escorted the President to the field had 
been greatly belated, and after his arrival upon the plat- 
form the proceedings were still further delayed, awaiting 
the arrival of the orator of the day. Mr. Everett's oration, 
that had been preceded by a prayer of some length and by 
music, was of two hours' duration, so that when the Presi- 
dent spoke it was to an audience that had been standing for 
nearly four hours. 

The brevity of the speech, the absence of rhetorical 
effort, and its very simplicity prevented its full appreciation. 
Mcolay's statement seems to accord with the facts, and as a 
devoted admirer of his Chief he would naturally incline to 
enhance rather than to minimize the effect of the Address 
upon the audience. 

" There is every probability that the assemblage regarded 
Mr. Everett as the mouthpiece, the organ of expression, ot 
the thought and feeling of the hour, and took it for granted 
that Mr. Lincoln was there as a mere official figurehead, 
the culminating decoration, so to speak, of the elaborately 
planned pageant of the day. They were therefore totally 
unprepared for what they heard and could not immediately 
realize that his words, and not those of the carefully 
selected orator, were to carry the concentrated thought ot 
the occasion like a trumpet-peal to farthest posterity." 

Undoubtedly there were many in the audience who fully 
appreciated the beauty and pathos of the President's Ad- 
dress, and many of those who read it on the following day 
perceived its wondrous character; but it is apparent that 
its full force and grandeur were not generally recognized 
then, either by its auditors or its readers. Kot until the 
war itself had ended and the great leader had fallen did the 
I^ation realize that this speech had given to Gettysburg 
another claim to immortality and to American eloquence 
its highest glory. 

The variations between the several contemporary ver- 
sions of the Address and its many subsequent reproductions 



The Oettysburg Address. 15 

are remarkable, particularly in view of its brevity and im- 
portance. Attention has more than once been attracted to 
these variations; and because of the differences between 
the earlier reports and the version published in autographic 
facsimile in 1864, it has been assumed that the discrepan- 
cies were due either to blunders on the part of reporters, or 
to their attempts to improve the President's composition. 
But examination of a number of versions forces the conclu- 
sion that while some of the minor variations in the news- 
paper reports were caused by typographical or telegraphic 
errors, the rhetorical differences between these reports and 
the later version were plainly the result of the author's 
own revision. 

The reports of the Address, published November 20, 
1863, in the Ledger, the North American, the Press, and the 
Bulletin of this city, in the Tribune and the Herald of ISfew 
York, in the Advertiser and the Journal of Boston, and in 
the Springfield Bepublican, and on the 23d in the Cincinnati 
Commercial, were furnished by the Associated Press. The 
reports printed in the Philadelphia papers named agree 
with the exception of obvious misprints. The isTew York 
papers agree with a single exception, probably a typo- 
graphical error; the Boston papers also agree substantially 
with but three verbal variations. But the respective ver- 
sions of the several cities differ from each other in a number 
of details, probably because of errors in telegraphing the 
reports from Gettysburg. 

The reports of the Address published in the Philadelphia 
Inquirer and in the Cincinnati Gazette, November 20 and 
21 respectively, differ materially from eacK other and from 
the Associated Press report, and are apparently independent 
in source ; lacking in completeness, they seem to be para- 
phrases rather than literal reports, and are probably free 
renderings of notes made at the time, but are valuable so 
far as they go, in aiding to determine which of the other 
reports most nearly represents the words actually spoken. 

Another independent report of greater value is that made 



16 The Gettyshurg Address. 

by the Massachusetts Commissioners, which they assert is 
" in the correct form as the words actually spoken by the 
President, with great deliberation, were taken down by one 
of" themselves. The differences between their report and 
that printed in the North American, which is freer from 
obvious errors than any other version of the Associated 
Press report that I have seen, are slight. 

Nicolay says that the President did not read from the 
written pages, and that he did not deliver the Address in 
the form in which it was first written, but from the fulness 
of thought and memory rounded it out nearly to its final 
rhetorical completeness. Brooks states that as Mr. Lincoln 
read from the manuscript he made a few verbal changes. 

Comparison of the several reports named leads to the con- 
clusion that the President, remembering what he had written 
in the Hay manuscript, delivered his Address in closer 
accordance with it than with the Mcolay manuscript which 
he held, but to which he referred little. The North American 
report, which in my judgment reproduces the words spoken 
more accurately than any other, and more closely than the 
President's final revision, differs from the Hay manuscript in 
several instances, but materially only in the words " under 
God," which were interpolated by the President as he spoke, 
for the phrase does not appear either in the Mcolay or the 
Hay manuscript, and in the use of " the " instead of " this " 
before " government of the people." 

Mcolay says that a few days after the visit to Gettysburg, 
upon receipt from Mr. Wills of a request on behalf of the 
States interested in the ISTational Cemetery for the original 
manuscript of the Dedication Address, the President re- 
examined his original draft and the version that had ap- 
peared in the newspapers, and he saw that because of the 
variations between them, the first, that is, the Mcolay, 
seemed incomplete and the others imperfect; he therefore 
directed his secretaries to make copies of the several reports 
of the Associated Press and, " comparing these with his 
original draft and with his own fresh recollection of the 



The Oettyshurg Address. 17 

form in which he delivered it, he made a new autograph 
copy, a careful and deliberate revision." 

What became of this first revision is unknown, it was 
not received by Mr. Wills, who wrote me years ago : "I 
did not make a copy of my report of President Lincoln's 
speech at Gettysburg from a transcript from the original, 
but from one of the press reports. I have since always 
used the revised copy furnished the Baltimore fair, of which 
I have a facsimile in lithograph," 

Other copies were made, one in February, 1864, at the 
request of Mr. Everett, to be bound, with the manuscript of 
his oration and Mr. Lincoln's letter to him of I^ovember 20, 
in a volume to be sold at the Metropolitan Fair for the 
benefit of the United States Sanitary Commission. Still 
another copy was made at the request of the Hon. George 
Bancroft for the benefit of the Soldiers and Sailors Fair in 
Baltimore ; this, having been written on both sides of a letter- 
sheet, was unavailable for purposes of lithographic produc- 
tion in facsimile, and Mr. Lincoln, in March, made another 
copy, which was reproduced in '' Autograph Leaves of Our 
Country's Authors " — a volume published for the benefit 
of the fair. 

This version exhibits the result of the author's final revi- 
sion, and, except in punctuation and in the use of "on" 
instead of " upon" in the first sentence and in the omission 
of " here" between " they" and " gave" in the last sentence, 
is identical with the version made at Mr. Everett's request, 
which is the earliest of the several existing revisions of 
which I have been able to learn. 

In an address so brief, but so momentous, every syllable 
tells; and though the differences between the final revision 
and the speech as actually delivered are few and seemingly 
immaterial, the changes intensify its strength and pathos 
and add to its beauty, and as so revised the speech cannot 
be too jealously preserved as the ultimate expression of the 
author's sublime thought. Increasing appreciation of Lin- 
coln's character and of his fitness for the great work to 



18 The Getty shurg Address, 

which in the providence of God he was called enhances 
the value of his every word, and surely the form by which 
he intended this utterance should be judged is that in which 
we should perpetuate the Gettysburg Address. 



ADDEESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE 
CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG. 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth 
on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and 
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

ISTow we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether 
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, 
can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that 
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as 
a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that 
that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper 
that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — ^we can not 
consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave 
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated 
it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world 
will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it 
can never forget what they did here. It is for us the liv- 
ing, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work 
which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. 
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task 
remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take 
increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the 
last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve 
that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this 
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and 
that government of the people, by the people, for the peo- 
ple, shall not perish from the earth. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

:N'ovember 19, 1863. 



The Gettysburg Address. 19 



Appendices. 
A. 

Four versions compared. The first draft, the Nicolay MS. ; the second 
draft, the Hay MS.; the Associated Press report from the North Ameri- 
can, Philadelphia, Nov. 20, 1863^; the final revision, Baltimore, 1864. 

Nicolay. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 

Hay. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 

North American. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 

Baltimore. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 

N forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, 

H. forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, 

N. A. forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty 

B. forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, 

N. and dedicated to the proposition that " all men are created equal ' ' 

ff. and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

N. A. and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

B. and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

N. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 

H. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 

N. A. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 

B. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 

N. nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long 

ff. nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long 

N. A. nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long 

B. nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long 

N. endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. 

ff. endure. We are met here on a great battle-field of that war. 

N. A. endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war; 

B. endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. 



^ Notoi of applause omitted. 



20 The Gettysburg Address. 

N. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final rest- 

H. We have come^ to dedicate a portion of it as a' final rest- 

N. A. we are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final rest- 

B. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final rest- 

N. ing place for those who died here, that the nation might 

H. ing place for' those who here gave their lives that that nation might 

N. A. ing place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might 

B. ing place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might 

N. live. This we may, in all propriety do. 

H. lire. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

N. A. live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this, 

B. live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

N. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not con- 

H. But in a larger sense we can not dedicate — we can not con- 
N. A. but, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot con- 

B. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not con- 

N. secrate — we can not hallow, this ground — The brave men, liv- 

H. secrate — we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, liv- 

N. A. secrate, we cannot hallow this ground. ^ The brave men, liv- 

B. secrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, liv- 

N. ing and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above 

H. ing and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above 

N. A. ing and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above 

B. ing and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above 

N. our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, 

H. our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, 

N. A. our poor power to add or to detract. The world will little note, 

B. our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, 

N. nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget 

H, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget 

N. A. nor long remember, what we gay here, but it can never forget 

B. nor long remember what we say here, but it <;an never forget 

N. what they did here. 

JET. what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedi- 

N. A. what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedi- 

B. what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedi- 



* In the Hay MS. Mr. Lincoln first wrote are met. See facsimile. 
' In the Hay MS. Mr. Lincoln first wrote the. See facsimile. 

• In the Hay ms. Mr. Lincoln first wrote of. See facsimile. 



The Gettysburg Address. 21 

N. 

H. cated here to the unfinished work which they 

N. A. cated here to the unfinished work that they 

B. cated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here 

N. ^ It is rather for us, the liv- 

H. have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us 
N. A. have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us 

B. have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for ua 

N. ing, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before 

H. to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before 

N. A. here to be dedicated to the great task remaining before 

B. to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before 

N. us — that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 

H. us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 

N. A. us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 

B. us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 

N. that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of 

H. that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of 
N. A. that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of 

B. that cause for which they gave the last full measure of 

N. devotion — that we here highly resolve these dead shall not 

H. devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 

N. A. devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 

B. devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 

N. have died in vain; that the nation, shall 

H. have died in vain; that this nation shall 

N. A. have died in vain. That the nation shall, under God, 

B. have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall 

N. have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the 

H. have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the 

N. A. have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the 

B. have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the 

N. people by the people for the people, shall not perish from 

H. people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from 

N. A. people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from 

B. people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from 

N. the earth. 

H. the earth. 

N. A. the earth. 

B. the earth. 



22 The Gettyshurg Address. 



B. 

From Report of the Commissioners representing Massachusetts at the 
Dedication of the National Cemetery. 

Dedicatory Speech by President Lincoln. 

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this 
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the propo- 
sition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation 
— or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated — can long endure. 

We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We are met to dedi- 
cate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who have given ^ 
their lives that that nation might live. 

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we 
cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power' to add or 
to detract. 

The world will very^ little note nor long remember what we say here; 
but it can never forget what they did here. 

It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated, here, to the unfinished 
work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to 
be here* dedicated to the great task remaining before usj that from these 
honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they 
here gave the last full measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve 
that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that the nation shall, under 



^ North American (Associated Press) : here gave, and so other papers, 
except Boston Journal, Boston Advertiser, and Cincinnati Gazette, which 
have have given, and Inquirer, who gave. Hay and Baltimore : here 
gave. Nicolay : who died here. 

' North American (Associated Press) : poor power, and so Nicolay, Hay, 
and Baltimore. All but Philadelphia papers omit poor. 

' North American (Associated Press) omits very, and so all other papers 
and Nicolay, Hay, and Baltimore. 

* North American (Associated Press): here to be, and so other Philadel- 
phia papers, except Inquirer, which has neither phrase, and Cincinnati 
Gazette. All other papers and Hay and Baltimore to be here. Nicolay : 
here be. 



The Gettysburg Address. 23 

Ood, have a new birth of freedom, and that^ government of the people, 
by the people,^ for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

C. 

Report in Philadelphia ^'Inquirer,'' November 20, 1863. 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this 
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the propo- 
sition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great 
civil war, testing the question whether this nation or any nation so con- 
ceived, so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on the great battle- 
field of that war. We are met to dedicate it, on a portion of the field 
set apart as the final resting place of those who gave their lives for the 
nation's life ; but the nation must live, and it is altogether fitting and 
proper that we should do this. 

In a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot 
hallow this ground in reality. The number of men, living and dead, 
who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor attempts to 
add to its consecration. The world will little know and nothing remem- 
ber of what we see here, but we cannot forget what these brave men 
did here. 

We owe this offering to our dead. We imbibe increased devotion to 
that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion ; 
we here might resolve that they shall not have died in vain ; that the 
nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the Gov- 
ernment of the people, for the people, and for all people, shall not 
perish from earth. 

— Same report in ''The Compiler" (Gettysburg), November 23, 1863. 

Report in Cincinnati ^^ Daily Gazette,'" November 21, 1863. 
Four score and seven years ago our fathers established upon this Con- 
tinent a Government subscribed in liberty and dedicated to the fiinda- 
mental principle that all mankind are created free and equal by a good 
God. And now we are engaged in a great contest deciding the question 
whether this nation or any nation so conserved, so dedicated, can long 
remain. We are met on a great battle-field of the war. We are met 
here to dedicate a portion of that field as the final resting place of those 
who have given their lives that it might live. It is altogether fitting 
and proper that we should do this. 



^ North American (Associated Press) inserts the, and so other Philadel- 
phia papers and Cincinnati Gazette. Hay inserts this. Other papers 
and Nicolay and Baltimore agree with Massachusetts. 

^ North American (Associated Press) inserts and, and so all other 
papers. Nicolay, Hay, and Baltimore agree with Massachusetts. 



24 The Getty shurg Address. 

But in a large sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we 
cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, the living and the dead, 
who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add to 
or detract from the work. Let us long remember what we say here, 
but not forget what they did here. 

It is for us rather, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished 
work that they have thus far so nobly carried forward. It is for us here 
to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us, for us to renew our 
devotion to that cause for which they gave the full measure of their 
devotion . Here let us resolve that what they have done shall not have 
been done in vain ; that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth 
offered ; that the Government of the people, founded by the people, shall 
not perish. 

— Apparent typographical errors are as in original reports. 

/ 
D. 

"From Pennsylvania Magazine, History and Biography " October, 1909. 

Centenary of Abraham Lincoln's Birth. — 

The Centenary of Abraham Lincoln's birth was observed by the His- 
torical Society of Pennsylvania at a Special Meeting, February 8, at 
which Major William H. Lambert, a member of the Council, read a 
paper entitled " The Gettysburg Address, When Written, How Received, 
its True Form"; and also by an Exhibition of Lincoln Autographs and 
Relics, that continued through the week. In addition to the Society's 
own treasures, the following articles from Major Lambert's Lincoln Col- 
lection were shown : 

Lock of Lincoln's Hair, cut April 15, 1865. 

Cuflf Button worn by Lincoln April 14, ] 865. 

Inkstand owned and used by Lincoln in his Springfield Law Office, 
with certificate by his partner Herndon, that from this stand the 
"House divided against itself" speech was written. 

Cane owned and used by Lincoln, and presented by him to Rev. Dr. 
Gurley, pastor of the Church attended by the President and his family 
in Washington. 

Cane presented to Lincoln in 1860, and after his death presented by 
his widow to Frank B. Carpenter, the artist. 

Books Owned by Lincoln and Cojitaining his Autograph. 

A Dictionary for Primary Schools — ^Webster — 1833. 

Paley's Works. 

Gibbon's Rome. 

Hallam's Middle Ages. 

Angell on Limitations. 

The Illinois Conveyancer. 

Books Presented to Lincoln. 

The Republican Party, speech by Charles Sumner, with his autograph 
presentation. 

Hitchcock's Religious Truth, with autograph presentation by Herndon. 



The Gettysburg Address. 25 

Books Used by Lincoln, Each with Certificate of that Fact. 

Col ton's Life and Speeches of Henry Clay. 
Speech of Stephen A. Douglas. 

Books Presented by Lincoln with his Penciled Autograph ' 
Inscription in Each. 

Lincoln and Douglas Debates, 1860, with two A. L. S. of Lincoln 
and one of Douglas, relating to contest, inserted. 

Lanman's Dictionary of Congress, 1859, with A. L. S. of Lincoln to 
Lanman inserted. 

Autographs of Lincoln. 

'* Abraham Lincoln — His Book." — Small blank book in which Lincoln 
pasted clippings from newspaper reports of various speeches and wrote 
notes and a letter to Hon. J. N. Brown, for whom the book was prepared. 

Autograph page from " Sum Book" signed by Lincoln and dated 1824, 

Soldier's Discharge in ''Black Hawk War," blanks filled by Lincoln, 
who signed as Captain, September 26, 1832. 

Autograph Document — Notes of Survey, 1836. 

Autograph Praecipe in his first law suit, October 8, 1836. 

A. L. S. to Hon. John T. Stuart, January 20, 1840. 

A. L. S. to William H. Herndon, June 22, 1848. 

A. L. S. to John D. Johnson (step-brother), November 25, 1851. 

A. L. S. to Hon. John M. Palmer, September 7, 1854. 

A. L. S. to John E. Rosette, February 20, 1857. 

A. L. S. to Hon. Lyman Trumbull, April 29, 1860. 

Note signed to the Secretary of the Interior, March 15, 1861. 

A. N. S. to Lieut. Genl. Scott, August 7, 1861. 

A. N. S. to General McClellan, September 30, 1861. 

A. N. S. to Secretary of War, July 28, 1862. 

A. L. S. to Governor Curtin, July 25, 1864. 

A. L. S. to Dr. W. 0. Snider, July 25, 1864. 

A. L. S. to General Grant, City Point, April 6, 1865. 

Nine visiting cards with Autograph notes signed on each, various dates. 

A. L. S. of Col. J. E. Peyton to the Adjt. Genl. U. S. A. with favor- 
able endorsements by several citizens of Philadelphia, and Mayor Henry, 
Governor Curtin, and President Lincoln, but disapproved by the Secre- 
tary of War. 

Proposed measures for gradual and compensated abolition of slavery 
in Delaware ; four pages in President Lincoln's autograph. 

Plan of Campaign for fall of 1861, two pages in autograph of Presi- 
dent Lincoln. 

Autograph manuscript of his Address at the opening of the Sanitary 
Fair, Baltimore, April 18, 1864. 

Autograph Manuscript — Thoughts upon Slavery. 

Legal documents in Autograph of Lincoln, the several firm names 
signed by him. 

Stuart & Lincoln. 
Logan & Lincoln. 
Lincoln & Herndon. 



26 The Gettysburg Address. 

Legal Documents in Autograph of Lincoln signed for himself and 
associated counsel. 

Lincoln & Lamon. 

Whitney, Davis, Swett & Lincoln. 

Autograph judicial opinion written by Lincoln at request of the Clerk 
of the Court. 

Lincoln and Herndon Fee Book, 1847. 

Copper Medal, copy of Gold Medal given Mrs. Lincoln by French 
citizens. 

Lincoln Centennial Medals by Eoine, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. 

Lincoln Medals by Brenner, Silver and Bronze. 

Original Ambrotype, August 13, 1860. 

Original Ambrotype. 

Original Daguerreotype. 

Twelve Contemporary Card Photographs, 

Program of Arrangements for reception of President- Elect, Philadel- 
phia, February 21, 1861. 

Obsequies of President in Philadelphia, April 21, 1865. 

Ticket of Admission to Independence Hall, April 21, 1865. 

Ford's Theatre Play-Bill, April 14, 1865, First Issue. 

Ford's Theatre Play-Bill, April 14, 1865, Second Issue. 

Manuscript notes descriptive of the last hours of President Lincoln 
and of the autopsy, written April 15, 1865, by Dr. C. S. Taft, one of 
the attending Surgeons. 

Autograph Copy by Walt Whitman of " Captain ! My Captain ! ' ' 

Among the exhibits of the Historical Society were the following 
original autograph letters : 

Executive Mai^sion 
Major General Grant. Washington, July 13, 1863. 

My dear General. 
I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I write this 
now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service you 
have done the country. — I wish to say a word farther — When you first 
reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do, what you 
finaly did — March the troops across the neck, run the batteries with 
the transports, and then go below ; and I never had any faith, except a 
general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedi- 
tion, and the like, could succeed. When you got below, and took Port 
Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the 
river and join Gen. Banks, and when you turned Northward East of the 
Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal 
acknowledgment that you were right, and I was wrong. 

Yours very truly 
A. Lincoln. 

Executive Mansion 
Eliza P. Gurney. Washington September 4, 1864. 

My esteemed friend, 
I have not forgotten — probably never shall forget — the very impressive 
occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath forenoon 



The Gettysburg Address. 27 

two years ago. Nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later 
ever been forgotten. In all it has ever been your purpose to strengthen 
my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good christian people 
of the country for their constant prayers and consolations ; and to no 
one of them, more than to yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are 
perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accu- 
rately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of 
this terrible war long before this ; but God knows best, and has ruled 
otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error 
therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best light he gives 
us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. 
Surely He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, 
which no mortal could make, and no mortal could stay. 

Your people — the Friends — have had, and are having a very great 
trial. 

On principle, and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can 
only practically oppose oppression by war. In this hard dilemma, some 
have chosen one horn and some the other. For those appealing to me 
on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could 
and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you 
believe this I doubt not, and believing it, I shall still receive, for our 
country and myself, your earnest prayers to our Father in Heaven. 

Your sincere friend, 
A. Lincoln. 



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